Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Who Shot JR?!

Jeremy Roenick...one of my absolute favorite hockey players ever...and that says a LOT! Especially since he plays for my least favorite team (when they actually PLAY hockey), the Philly Flyers.

Let me explain the ethics around a sound-bite...they are edited by the media. They can take any snippet of words and probably get the Pope to denounce Christianity if they wanted to - so please remember that.

Now I will admit that I fell victim to the sound-bite - I was fuming at JR yesterday along with every other hockey fan I know (and some non-hockey fans, too). But JR needs to not read a 1000-word essay to any reporter, as he is a smart enough guy to know that it will be reduced to the most juicy 10 words ever spoken. Besides, most of his comments that made such an uproar, were in reaction to stupid questions from reporters...

He told it like it is - and has been given the opportunity to explain this sound-bite of his thesis and appease us all (or at least me, anyway). Look, I know he has little to do right now, but coming onto the Atlanta morning show to set the record straight and take calls from listeners/fans, impressed the hell out of me. Way to go JR!

If you think about it, some of what he said was really true. The NHLPA is ending up with a shitty deal and the owners are getting what they want. That's great for the fans - we might actually get a season - but like the rest of us out the in the work-force, we work really hard to get merit increases and make our jobs worth the paycheck we receive. Why should athletes be ANY different?

They are going to improve the game - I'm not going to complain - and the players are coming back for less money because they love the game so much...as do I.

So the next time you hear something disturbing from a celebrity, take it with a pound of salt...who knows what the media is feeding us this week. After all, if I had followed my first instincts, I would probably have auctioned off my JR jersey in haste and really hated myself for it down the line! Did I mention this was a signed Blackhawks jersey?!

You rock JR - hurry back to the ice, will ya?!

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Attack of the Tripods

Movie Review: War of the Worlds

This won't be easy to review this movie without giving too much away - but I will try my best. So let's start with the story.

Ray, Tom Cruise, is an almost deadbeat dad who is a New Jersey dock worker. It's "his weekend" with the kids and the first few minutes of the movie identify his lack of maturity when it comes to being a dad, but this is a character who is definitely flawed and it seems that he cares, but just doesn't know how to be a dad. His kids are not so thrilled to be at dad's place for the weekend and it only gets worse for them. I must say that Dakota Fanning turns in another stellar performance.

The movie picks up the pace very quickly, but not so quickly that you don't get to know these characters a little bit - Steven Spielberg is really good at this method of storytelling. He gives us enough of an insight into the people before introducing the shark..I mean aliens.

The next 45 minutes are completely intense. This movie is full of shock and terror for the audience - who would expect these things to have been on the planet for a million years, just lying in wait...certainly not the people in the theatre with me. I think the reason these initial scenes are so scary, is that you are feeling the panic and desperation of the people running for their lives because Spielberg shot it from the point of view of these people - well done!

The other thing that is done so well in this movie is that many things are implied, but never shown - a river of death, and war being played out between the military and the tripods and just enough data being passed around to make your own mind start to come to conclusions about the aliens. Again, this is what Spielberg does best. Think back to that shark eating his first victim, but all you see is this girl being dragged around the water and screaming...next thing you know, she is pulled under and there is nothing but silence. Spielberg pulls from all of his previous films in this movie - there is an homage to his raptors in the kitchen scene from Jurassic Park that takes place in Tim Robbin’s basement – you will all recognize it.

There are kids in danger, a lot of death and destruction, and pure terror in this movie, but without it, I don't think this movie would be as good. You have a feeling that there is no way out of this mess and everyone is going to die - and I loved every minute of it.

I will say the movie drops off in the second half, but not so much that I minded - after all, how do you sustain such intensity for 2 hours? I don't think I could have taken it. There is one scene that bothered me and I think should be removed - there is a scene where Ray and his family are attacked for having the only working vehicle - I could have lived without this scene. Unfortunately, it is pretty honest as to what would probably happen, but still, I'll be skipping that chapter when the DVD comes into my house.

The effects are amazing - hats off to ILM once again! They really did the trick to help you believe these aliens (and their freaky red vines - anyone buy Twizzlers at the concession stand?) were real. The destruction, the incineration of human beings, the ominous tripods - it was all amazing.

Look - ignore the crap in the media and go see this movie. Who cares if they are or if they aren't; ignore the Scientology-factor (I have for years working at my company). Go see this movie and enjoy every minute of it! I give it high marks :)

Monday, June 27, 2005

Things to Come

Hello all -

So I don't have too much to post today. Yesterday was pretty tame, with me spending the day with the 'rents - my usual Sunday schedule. I started thinking about summer movies and what I wanted to see. So I decided to put together a list...in alphabetical order:

2046
The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Beowulf & Grendel
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Everything is Illuminated
Fantastic Four
Fierce People
Flightplan
Happy Endings
In Her Shoes
Into the Blue
The Island
Junebug
Proof
Red-Eye
Serenity
Shopgirl
The Skeleton Key
Stealth
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
An Unfinished Life
Wallace & Gromet: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
War of the Worlds
The Weather Man
Wedding Crashers

Anything else falls into the Holiday Season - so that list can wait.

Anyway, I have a few flicks I still need to see that are currently in the theatre, and I have a few screenings in the next couple of weeks, which should help knock out a little of the list above...but at least it won't be a dry summer!

Sunday, June 26, 2005

That's All Brad, Sweetheart

Movie Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

In my pledge to have a movie weekend, I found that sleep is preferable to most of what's out there right now...but I still want to see them all - you know, get back on track. I won't get 100 seen, but I can try and get to 50, at least. The events of Q1 really put a damper on my movie-seeing and this is distressing.

So, movie #1 - Brad :) Okay, so really it was M/M Smith, but Brad Pitt is always enjoyable to watch. But the true draw of this movie was Doug Liman. It's funny to me, but as I get older, it seems to be more about the writers and directors than the stars (the starts still have a lot of influence, but not as much as in the past).

Anyway, if you look at his track record as a director alone - Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity - you see why his movies are a draw. There is an ebb and flow to them and the action is always so fluid and inticing. This movie was no different.

Now, there were slow parts and I found myself checking my watch in the last 30 minutes, but overall it was well done. The humor was there (with help from Vince Vaughn) to cut through the gunplay and death (very little blood here) and the chemistry is clear between Brad and Angelina Jolie - personally, I don't give a crap if they are or aren't...that's their business.

The movie was well worth the 2 hours and $6 I spent to see it - and odds are this one will end up in my collection in 6 months. Take the time to see it. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

As a side note - those of you good at voice placement, have 3 challenges in this movie as there are 3 voices whose faces are never seen and all are uncredited.
1) Atlanta - Mr. Smith's boss - female voice
2) Father - Mrs. Smith's boss - male voice
3) The Therapist - male voice

I'm scary good at placing voices and musical scores - ask anyone who knows me well. So I can give you some hints about the 3 voices - see if you can place them.
1) Think Stella, Mace or Tina Turner
2) Think Mary's Dad or The Thing's Childs
3) Think Kent the Blind scientist

Friday, June 24, 2005

Buried Alive

So my first day back at work was a nightmare, especially since I slept none Wednesday night.

I came into work with over 500 emails (all of which I have to at least glance at). The good news is I only had 3 meetings, but the bad news is that I had too much work to do to have time for anything else. I think it might take me a few days to dig myself out of this mess. I tried to keep up at least a little bit while on vacation, but Maggie wouldn't hear of it.

So the day was pretty smooth actually, even though I could have fallen asleep while sitting there digging through emails. Until around 11:15am there was suddenly 3 people at my desk all demanding attention. Luckily, Vanessa and I had planned to have lunch at 11:30, so it was only a 15 minute free-for-all. But still, I was mid-meeting and people just walked up and started talking, including 1 director. "Yes, I had a fabulous vacation, but I really have no time to talk about it as I am burried alive"... Now if I only I was nice enough to say that out loud.

So the rest of the day was pretty decent having lunch with Vanessa and Dani was fun - we all got to vent about the idiots we work with (more like good people acting idiotic) and catch up on the last 12 days.

I got back to my desk and immediately got into a meeting with a Product Manager about some things coming down the pike when I got an instant message asking if I was at my desk...I ignored it since I was on the phone. I got up and went to talk to Vanessa about some ideas to handle this Business initiative and saw stupidity at work! (Not Vanessa, someone else). Anyway, it has caused me to need to vent...

Work time is for work...I am a big believer in that. Now, it is hard when you have friends where you work who want to socialize, and 5 minutes of that is okay from time to time (especially since I don't have time for more than that), but handling personal issues in the middle of a conference call is unprofessional and embarassing. I feel for people who have things going on in their lives (frankly, who doesn't), but you have to check it at the door. If you have something to deal with (money problems, relationship problems, friends or family who are sick, etc - kids don't count), then take the time off to deal with it. Don't have calls about bounced checks in your cube in the middle of a meeting you are supposed to be representing your department in. Do NOT answer your cell phone in the middle of a conference call, and do not drop off an important call to deal with a lawyer or doctor - HELLO, this is what voicemail was invented for. There is nothing, except a sick child really, that cannot wait 15 minutes for you to return a call....what's worse is then lying about it to your superiors. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, DUDE!

Okay, (sigh). I feel a little better. But if you have proven yourself in any position, no matter what it is, and have earned a little slack to deal with outside issues, you will know it. But if you are more of a hinderance to your group than a help and then decide to blow off important work to deal with home stuff (especially when you went through the same thing 6 months ago and made exaggerating pronouncements surrounding said issues), do everyone a favor and take a leave of absence and give them a reprieve! Know your limits and act like a grown-up (or at least the age you are).

Okay, so maybe I wasn't quite finished, but I think I have said my peace this time around.

So another night of not really sleeping, and I really want to take today off...I think I will go into work and talk to my boss about leaving around 2 - I need to readjust to East Coast time before I lose my mind!!!!

I do miss Mags and Wils - October cannot come fast enough!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

The Wild, Wild West

And so I return from the west coast almost more tired than when I left, but let me tell you it was all worth it.

First, my new nephew. So adorable and so like my grandfather (his namesake). It's so funny how you can recognize facial expressions and personalities of family members in such a little newborn. Will is very sweet and reminds me of my brother when he was little (from pictures) and my Gramps (my mom's dad). He also has some similar traits as his big sister did 3 1/2 years ago. I will post pictures as soon as I get them (the camera had no juice to download pics by the time I was leaving).

Maggie is huge! 36.3 pounds to be exact and SO tall. You would never think she was just 3 - more like 5! She had very few "meltdowns" and was very loving toward her baby brother. We spent most of the time together last week since she was out of school, and I think she benefitted from all the focus. I got to read to her every night and she enjoyed picking out which pajamas I would wear every night (usually so she and I would be wearing the same color and could be twins). She picked the vegetables for dinner nightly and even helped me cook (pizza dough and pancakes). She even booked me for October to come to her party and make her birthday cake (a chocolate Incredibles cake has been requested).

So the week was pretty insane, thus the lack of posts. Each day was filled to the brim with activities from Wildlife Parks to a daily movie in the living room with popcorn (3 times this was The Incredibles, one of those times being in Spanish for a change of pace - yes, I have an odd family). I had no time to see old friends from San Jose, even though I had planned to...very disappointing, but I wouldn't trade a minute...I just have some apologizing and begging of forgivness to do.

All-in-all the trip was quite successful - I did tons of cooking and kid management. Somehow I never changed 1 diaper (not sure how that happened) and only got to feed Will twice (he is still on the breast almost exclusively). However, he took many naps on me as I seem to help intice babies to sleep (happened with Maggie and all babies belonging to my friends - some just invitied me over to get a break and get their kids to sleep).

I did see a couple of friends from my brother's crowd which was nice (including meeting their new babies as almost all of them have also gone through round 2 in the last 12 months).

Tuesday was the best day as Christina and I did the movie and Scharffen-Berger deal and completely wore me out! The great thing about the movie is this deal that Loews does that many other theatres need to adpot (hopefully, it will spread with AMC's purchase of Loews instead of the possibility of it dying out). It is called Reel Mom's Tuesdays. Basically, they only let in parents and babies (up to 1 year) to a current movie. They do not dim the lights entirely, and the sound is turned down to a tolerable level for babies. The entire place is feeding, changing, handling the crying of, rocking to sleep or monitoring a nap of their baby.

Now, while a crying baby would drive me nuts in a prime-time showing of an R-Rated film on opening night, this was vry different. Not only are you well prepared knowing what you are walking into, you hardly even notice when you have a baby with you doing the same things. The theatre handles "coat-checking" your stroller and has changing pads set up in the bathrooms. This is brilliant. There were probably 30 babies and their parent(s) plus a few extra friends (and aunts) in tow. We truly enjoyed ourselves and I was able to leave California not 100% behind schedule.

Now this weekend I have to do some work playing catch-up. I have 5 or 6 to try and get seen before next's week's releases. Hopefully, this will be a busy weekend as I am dedicating time to the flicks. Hopefully, I will get some baby shopping done as well - as I would love to see my friends in McDonough as well...it's been too long.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Begin the Bat

Movie Review: Batman Begins

You gotta love Christopher Nolan. He does with the Batman franchise, what Tim Burton started lo' those many years ago. And he did it really well. This movie is where the series should have gone instead of the last couple of attempts.

This is the king of Bat-lore flick with back story and the early versions of the tortured soul, Bruce Wayne, and how he found his voice in the man they call Bat. This movie was fun and a fresh view of a secret identity hero - and how the Bat came to be (why a Bat and why the need to clean up Gotham?).

Wayne is ear-marked for training by Liam Neeson (clearly trying to right his Anakin wrongs by exercising his old Jedi Master ways). The fourth iteration of Master Wayne is deftly played as a smoldering and somewhat reluctant hero by Christian Bale. This movie always shows how Commissioner Gordon worked his way up and how Alfred cam to look after young Wayne and be looped into the Bat-circle. Also, where did Bruce get all those handy gadgets and the suit (nippleless this time, thank god!). Not to mention the tank that soon is to become the coolest hero-ride ever (okay, someone still has some explaining to do about Wonder Woman's invisible plane - too many problems with that vehicle).

So if you are an avid comic-book version of Batman fan - I'm not sure how happy this flick will make you, but I think it is worth a shot. Personally, I think this is the ticket to buy this summer...so far!

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

One by One

Those of you, who know me, know I am not a political person. Sure, I have my opinions, and I have been known to voice them, but I'm not really a "get-on-a-soapbox" kind of gal. I know what I believe in and I don't preach those beliefs to friends (or enemies). This post is not being preachy, not forcing my views or anything. This is just about something crucial I learned and now I am spreading the word...

Really, this is just an outlet for me, but there are certain things that you know to be true as you live your life - your family, for one. But what one tends to forget, is that we are born into privilege - just by being born in the US. Now there are plenty of people here who are hungry, homeless, etc., but we have many more opportunities than most countries. My point is this, be thankful for all that you have, even if you don't have a lot, by African standards, you have the world.

It really made me think. So, if you have the time, and you want to help make the world a better place (especially when you think about that for $16, an African child can go to school for a year), please check out The ONE Campaign.

It costs you nothing, but it will let you let W know that we are okay with sending some aide to Africa. After all, if I am stuck with W as my president, he needs to listen to our generation and make a decision based on who the country is, not how it will further him politically.

Please sign the petition - this isn't bogus. If you want, you can make a donation (and oh look, get a cool white wristband) - but I am not asking you for money...just to let your opinion know.

Thanks all - I'll step down off that soapbox now.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Cracking Easter Eggs

If you are a fan of the DVD, then you know what I am talking about. Half the fun of buying or renting a DVD, is finding the Easter Eggs and unlocking the hidden magic and fun of that DVD.

So, for all of you movie buffs (or recreational viewers), here are some of the most recent ones I have found.

The Incredibles
Egg: Quite a few: More Deleted Scenes, Behind the Scenes, The Incredibles as performed by sock puppets, and funny Pixar moments (one involving a Razor Scooter in the studio).
The Hunt: All you have to do is be patient. Any menu screen, if left alone long enough, will populate a small icon at the top (either Mr. Incredible or the Omnidriod) - select that to find the eggs.
Notes: The sock puppets are hysterical! This one can be found from the Setup Screen on Disc 2.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition)
Egg: Elijah Wood interview (a prank on Elijah as he thinks it's a German interviewer, but is really Dominic Monaghan
The Hunt: Disc 1 - Go to select a scene and keep pushing down until a gold ring appears next to "select a scene", push enter when the ring appears.
Notes: Really funny - I had seen a clip of this long ago and at the Oscar Party, Peter Jackson promised to have lots of fun stuff on this DVD and he didn't lie!

Star Wars Trilogy Boxset
Egg: Star Wars Trilogy Blooper Reel
The Hunt: Bonus Disc - Go to Video Games and Still Galleries. Now type: 11 (enter), 3 (enter), 8 (enter).
Notes: This contains 5 minutes of bloopers I had never seen. Let the record reflect, I have serious issues with this set of DVDs and did not spend money on it - it was a gift!

Please, readers, if you know of an Easter Egg worth cracking, please add it in the comments to this BLOG post. I'm a big fan of Easter Egg hunts, but prefer to know when and where to find them!!

P.S. To support your local Steev, please visit the newest store front on the net. All proceeds to benefit the Steev!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Oh...The Horror!

So my morning has been eventful - somehow I knew this would be the case.

Everyone is asking me about a seemingly mysterious or cryptic email received from Steev. To anyone who reads this, I cannot give you any detail. If you want to know what happened, why Steev is gone, etc, you need to email him, please. I am not in any position to give more information than he no longer works here. I am as sad and dismayed as the rest of you - Steev gave life to this place.

So the rest of my weekend was tainted by this news, but I managed to survive. Unfortunately, I am still mad and upset and scratching my head, but I know there is nothing I can do - it is all up to Steev.

So the rest of my weekend - was pretty much Sunday. And all of Sunday was spent with my dad. We did the food delivery for my mom's catering, which was interesting. The two if us letting ourselves into the building to load up the fridge and the freezers. We had fun.

On the way home, we stopped at the grocery and ran into friends of the family (of course). I can't go anywhere in this town without seeing people I know, but my dad is even worse. It's a non-stop hit parade of people when we are together.

Anyway, then we did the "What do you want for dinner"-dance. This is my least-favorite conversation with my dad. He doesn't know what he wants and he offers few suggestions. Pork - isn't a suggestion. Anyway, my dad usually starts asking me what I want a week out...I think this is why I never know what I want when other people ask me. It's like an adverse reaction to the question or something.

Anyway, I suggested Grilled Pizza since we had a new recipe and procedure (past attempts ended in burnt/charred crust). He didn't like the idea and after 10 minutes at the Butcher Counter not liking anything he saw, he decided that the pizza is ok. So we bought what we needed and headed home.

I made the dough and it did exactly what the recipe said it would. We grilled the pizza and it was amazing. It was well worth the little bit of extra work, but overall the work was less than usual.

I went home after dinner and watched the Tony Awards. Thank goodness the American Theatre Wing "gets it" and gave best musical to SpamAlot. Finally, more than my generation gets the Monty Python humor - there is hope for the world!!!

Another work week - soon I will be with Mags and Will!

5 days until I am on a plane to California
328 days until sabbatical!

Sunday, June 05, 2005

The Zoo's The Thing

Movie Review: Madagascar

Can someone please explain Hollywood to me? Why are all the kids movies PG now (even the animated ones) and all the big blockbuster pics are PG-13 (instead of the R Rating we have all been used to)?

Here is the problem; first, you are making it very hard for me to take Maggie to movies. Everything is PG instead of G and that usually means there is ONE scene that may scare her. Why, oh, why? Why do you do this to me?

Despite the higher rating, this movie was cute. There were quite a few jokes for the adults in the room, and some for the little kids. But when the lion pictures all characters as steaks with legs, and then starts roaring and lunging to eat his friends, odds are the 3 to 4 year olds aren't going to be very happy. It was minor, and with that and a scene where the hyena-like cats are converging on all the cute and funny characters (the zebra, giraffe, hippo, and a whole bunch of lemurs), it can be taking as a little scary (not as freaky as SpongeBob's leg breaking off) - but I'm guessing my brother will put the kybosh on me and Mags at the movies next week.

Oh well, maybe I can find a theatre running early kiddie movies that aren't so scary!

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Injustice League

As much as I would like to write a really long post about the injustice which occurred at my company on Friday, I should really keep this short so I don't lose my job as well.

I do need to say a couple of things, just to get it off my chest and so I can actually sleep.

If you don't know how to manage people - get out of any position that has you managing people. But in the meantime, just a couple of tips:

1) Don't blind-side people. If you have a question about a behavior, ask your direct report and get more detail. If you know the people who report to you, you know the difference between honest mistakes and deliberate actions against a person or persons (or company)

2) Get rid of dead weight - not the individuals who do all the work and keep the company functioning properly.

3) If you have someone who works for you that isn't in the right position for their talents, then help them find something better suited for them.

Okay - as much as I would like to say more, legally, I cannot. However, it ain't over...

Thursday, June 02, 2005

And the Rain Just Keeps On Fallin'

Another dreary day here in Atlanta and it makes it hard to be jazzed about anything. Personally, I would rather be in bed than sitting at my desk pretending to work!

I did get a blast from the past call yesterday that made me smile. I love talking to my friends and catching up on each other's lives - it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I did get my chance to nap when I got home too - that also makes me smile! Who decided that naps are passé after the age of 6, anyway? Whoever they are, they should be shot!

I did get to talk to Maggie as well - I called to talk to my brother and much to my surprise, Maggie answered the phone. I was given explicit instructions about my trip to San Fran in 10 days - "Aunt D, can you bring your stitching stuff so we can work on my butterfly, please?" Well, who can refuse her that? She has this beginner's needlepoint kit I bought her at Thanksgiving that is a butterfly in pinks and purples (her favorite colors) and each time I see her, we do a half a dozen stitches on it - at this rate, we will finish when she is 8.

Anyway, it is officially re-run season. I have found that absolutely nothing is on TV except some cooking shows and really bad Summer TV. So, I got roped in (not intentionally) to Dancing with the Stars. OMG this is bad TV - this was horrible to watch but I was surprised at the actual dancing...Who knew some of these stars (b-listers, all) could dance. But some of them should not have been wearing spandex!

Anyway, after brainless TV, I switched over to Good Eats I hadn't seen (and seriously had me considering becoming a vegetarian - 3 words - Split Pea Burgers). Then I decided I really needed to go to sleep - I was tired, but not sleepy.

So on came another bizarre sleepless night where all I did was toss and turn and check the clock. I think I need to hire Goldberg to come into my house nightly and knock me out...maybe then I could get some sleep!

Time to get some work done...but don't forget:
332 days until sabbatical!
But...
Only 8 1/2 days until I see Maggie and Will

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Friends of a Feather

It's been raining here and usually that makes for a good night's sleep for me...but not the past couple of days. The meds they have me on have completely screwed up my sleep routines and so my days are seemingly 2 weeks long.

Yesterday, I got an AIM from my dad inviting me to dinner and to watch the baseball game - so I missed out on my afternoon nap on my new comfy sofa (yes, pictures will be posted tonight!). I did sort of nap on my dad's sofa (my old one), but he kept wanting me to wake up to talk to him. Not a problem, I love my dad, but the meds had a better idea for me.

I finally got up and helped in the kitchen while he finished up dinner:
Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Black Pepper Rub
Sautéed Spinach with Fresh Lemon
Loaded Baked Potatoes with Swiss Cheese


We ate a nice meal and I could not finish it all. Finally, I headed out the door to go home to go to bed. Well, I walked in the door and realized it was 9:15 - quick! Turn on Gilmore Girls to re-watch the season finale!!! So I did.

I sat and stitched and watched the entire last episode again - even when I only needed to watch the last 10 minutes that were missed the previous time this aired. At 10pm, my phone started to ring...now those of you in the TiVo world understand that if you start 15 minutes late on an hour show, you end a couple minutes after the hour. SO i finally saw who proposed to whom and then the show ended immediately. Dammit! When will September be here???

So it turns out, my friend from work Tisha was the one calling to make sure that I saw GG also and we proceeded to dish about it for 15 minutes. Ahhhh - to have friends with common interests - it makes it so much fun to share. You know - Water Cooler talk. My friends who were into Lost all left the company, so no one was around right after the finale. SO sad.

Anyway, today I have been wasting time chatting with friends on AIM. Things keep happening in our lives so those of us trying to find time to hang out, can't seem to work it out...but we have plans to hang out, just no times yet...it will come. Plus, there will be some fun shopping involved and good girl-talk - always a plus!

Despite the rain and the storming, and the lack of a good night's sleep, today is a decent enough day with lots of people keeping me entertained...now if my mother would just send along those new Will pictures, I would be a much happier camper!